Italy Come From Behind To Beat Lithuania

Italy showed they are a force to be reckoned with by upsetting one of the tournament favourites, Lithuania, at the U20 European Championship.

The Azzurri prevailed, 89-82, in the day-two Group D clash, despite trailing by as many as 11 points in the second quarter.

Having opened an early 22-9 lead in the first frame, Lithuania then seemed to lose focus, but Italy kept playing niggling defence to get right back in the game, forcing the Lithuanians to commit 23 turnovers.

In the fourth quarter, Italy used a 14-0 run to gain a 20-point lead with eight minutes left in the game.

Although Lithuania's pressing allowed them to close the gap to five points, the Italians managed to hold on to take the victory.

Italy's sharpshooter Marco Ceron finished the game with 29 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc, Amadeo Tessitori had 15 points while Marco Lagana contributed with 11.

Edgaras Ulanovas led the Baltic side with 23 points and Vytenis Cizauskas scored 15 points, but added only one assist and committed eight turnovers, as Lithuania couldn't buy a shot from beyond the three-point line, making only 3-of-14 attempts.

Italy and Lithuania now both have a 1-1 record, with the Italians facing Sweden in the final gameday on Saturday and the Lithuanians playing with Slovenia.